Anchoring rod bracket assembly for railway car brake rigging

ABSTRACT

A foundation brake rigging for railway cars includes a connecting rod and an anchoring rod which are disposed beneath the axles of the wheels of a railway car truck. The connecting rod is connected to a fulcrum rod which actuates the connecting rod to apply the brakes. The anchoring rod is removably anchored on a bracket assembly of tripodal design which is removably connected to the center sill of the railway car.

United States Patent Yates 51 Sept. 26, 1972 ANCHORING ROD BRACKETASSEMBLY FOR RAILWAY CAR BRAKE RIGGING [72] Inventor: Donald B. Yates,Park Forrest, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Pullman Incorporated, Chicago, Ill.

[22] Filed:- June 21,1971

[211 App]. No.: 154,971

[52] US. Cl. ..188/52, 188/47, 188/209 [51] lnt. Cl. ..B6lh 13/38 [58]Field of Search ..l88/47, 52, 53, 56, 206 R,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,184,000 5/1965 Radey188/52 Primary ExaminerDuane A. Reger Attorney-l-liimond O. Vogel et al.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A foundation brake rigging for railway cars includes aconnecting rod and an anchoring rod which are disposed beneath the axlesof the wheels of a railway car truck. The connecting rod is connected toa fulcrum rod which actuates the connecting rod to apply the brakes. Theanchoring rod is removably anchored on abracket assembly of tripodaldesign which is removably connected to the center sill of the railwaycar.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTE'Dsarzs I972 SHEET 1 OF 2 I UWINVENTOR DONALD B. YATES ATT'Y PATENTEDsarzs I972 7 3.693. 762

' sum 2 0F 2 INVENTOR DONALD 8. YA TES l ANCHORING ROD BRACKET ASSEMBLYFOR RAILWAY CAR BRAKE RIGGING CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT Thepresent invention is an improvement of the invention disclosed in theCharles R. Radey US. Pat. No. 3,184,000 issued May l8, 1965, whichdiscloses in greater detail an improved foundation brake rigging whichis incorporated herein with the present invenw tion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION BRIEF DESCRlPTlONOF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is aschematic side elevational view of an end portion of a railway carunderframe and foundation 3 brake rigging;

FIG. 2 is a top schematic plan view of a portion of the brake riggingshown in FIG. 1; and

H6. 3 is a perspective view of a brake arrangement adjacent oneunderneath end of a railway car underframe.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, arailway car underframe includes a center sill 11 of hat-shaped crosssection including sides 12 and lower outwardly projecting flanges 13. Acover plate 14 is suitably connected to the flanges l3 and iscoextensive with the center sill 11. The figures disclose one endportion of the railway car and brake rigging, it being understood thatthe other end of the car not disclosed being of similar arrangement anddesign. A truck bolster 15 is suitably connected, as best shown in FIG.1, adjacent the ends of the railway car and includes a horizontalopening 16. Conventional axles of a conventional truck (not shown) aredesignated as 17 and are disposed on opposite sides of the bolster 15.The axles support conventional car wheels 18.

The arrangement of an under-the-axle brake arrangement is fullydisclosed in the aforementioned Radey patent and this construction anddisclosure is incorporated herein by reference. The portion to which thepresent invention applies is the end or the anchoring assembly for theunder-the-axle brake rigging and this will be described herein indetail.

The wheels 18, as is conventional, are controlled by means of a brakebeam designated at 19 in FlGS. 1 and 3. Such brake beams 19 havesupported thereon suitable brake shoes (not shown) which are engageablewith the wheels in conventional fashion. The brake beam 19 is suitablyconnected to a brake lever 20 for braking the frontrnost wheels of thearrangement shown in FIG. 1. A similar brake lever 21 includes a brakebeam assembly (not shown) for braking the other pair of wheels on theother side of the bolster 15. A fulcrum lever 22 extends downwardlysubstantially vertically and is pivotally connected as indicated at 23to a bracket arrangement supported on the underframe 10. The brake lever22 is moved about its pivot 23 by means of a top rod 25 which extends toa suitable air cylinder (not shown) of conventional design foreffectuating braking action of a conventional foundation brake assembly.A fulcrum rod 26 is pivotally connected to the fulcrum lever 22 and inturn is pivotally connected at its other end by means of a clevis andpin assembly 28 to the brake lever 21. A connecting rod 29 is pivotallyconnected to the other end of the brake lever 21 and extends through theopening 16 and is in turn pivotally connected as indicated at 31 to thebrake lever 20. A fixed or anchor rod 32 includes a clevis and pinassembly 33 which is connected to the other end of the brake lever 20.The anchor rod 32 in turn is fixedly supported on a fulcrum bracket orbracket assembly 34 which is of tripodal configuration. As best shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, a plurality of clevis assemblies 35, 36 and 37 areconnected at three points to the underneath side of the cover plate 14of the center sill l 1. in center sill construction wherein cover plates14 are not utilized, the clevis assemblies 35, 36 and 37 may be con- 0nected directly to the flanges 13.

A first converging supporting bar or rod 38 is provided at its upper endwith an eye 39 which by means of removable pin 40 connects the upper endof the rod 38 to the clevis assembly 37, as best shown in FIG. 3. A rod41 converges downwardly and has its lower end, as best shown-in FIG. 1,rigidly connected to the rod 38, intermediate its ends. The rod 41 isalso provided with an eye 42 which by means of a pin 43 removablyconnects the rod to the clevis 36. A third bar or rod 44 is provided atits upper ends with an eye 45 and removable pin 46 which is connected tothe clevis assembly 35 and which has its lower end, as best shown inFIG. 2, secured to a portion of the rod 38 intermediate its ends. Thelower end of the rod 38 is provided with a flat extension 47 having asubstantially horizontally extending eye portion 48 which by means of aremovable pin 49 connects the rod 38 to a clevis and pin assembly 50which is provided at one end of the anchoring rod 32.

OPERATION The operation of an under-the-axle brake rigging is describedin more detail in the aforementioned patent application, it beingsufficient to indicate here that a longitudinal thrust on the top rod 25provides for pivotal movement of the fulcrum 22, in turn moving thefulcrum rod 26 which is positioned beneath one of the axles 17 and whichin turn pivots the brake lever 21 for applying the brakes to the wheelassembly 18 disposed rearwardly of the bolster 15. Movement of the brakelever 21 causes longitudinal movement of the connecting rod 29, in turnpivoting the brake lever 20 to apply the brake beam assembly 19 to theforward pair of railway car wheels 18. The anchoring rod 32 anchors thebrake lever 20 and absorbs the longitudinal thrust movements of thebraking action by means of its connection to the fulcrum bracketassembly 34. The

' the tripodal arrangement wherein the support rods 41 and 44 are intransverse alignment and the bracket structure 34 is secured againstlongitudinal forces by means of the rod 38 which is anchored forwardlyof the center sill. By the utilization of the tripodal arrangement, itis possible to provide a relatively simple and light structure withoutthe need of greater substantially reinforced brackets to resist thebending created by the eccentric loadings. Further, the tripodalassembly 34 is quickly removable by the mere removal of the pins 40, 43and 46 which thus permits the underframe to be jacked up so that thetruck wheels can be removed if desired for maintenance purposes.

Further, the particular arrangement is advantageous in that a relativelyshort anchoring rod 32 can be utilized in place of a relatively longrod. This is particularly favorable because of space requirements neededin the use of end of car. cushions wherein the opposite ends of thecenter sill include operative elements immediately disposed outwardly ofthe outer wheel assemblies of the railway car and beneath the centersill. Thus, the present arrangement is particularly desirable in that ashort anchoring rod is provided and operative end-ofcar cushion portionswhich might be secured to the underframe outwardly at opposite ends ofthe tripodal arrangement in no way interfere with the arrangement.

I claim:

1. In a railway car having an underframe and a truck bolster at oppositeends thereof,

a pair of axles journaled for rotation on opposite sides of said truckbolster,

each of saidaxles being adapted to support a pair of wheels,

a foundation type brake system including wheel engaging means adapted toengage said wheels in braking relation,

a fulcrum lever pivotally connected to said underframe,

means adapted to apply force to said fulcrum lever to pivot the sameabout said pivotal mounting,

a fulcrum rod extending from said fulcrum lever beneath one of saidaxles and being connected to a first brake lever on one side of saidtruck bolster,

a second brake lever disposed on the opposite side of said truckbolster,

each of said first and second brake levers supporting said wheelengaging means for engagement with said wheels, and

means connecting said brake levers to provide for uniform braking force,the improvement comprismg:

means anchoring said connecting means against longitudinal movementincluding a bracket assembly,

a plurality of legs on said bracket assembly,

means removably connecting said legs to said underframe againstlongitudinal and transverse displacement, and

rod means extending between and'having opposite end portions pivotallyconnecting said second brake levers and said bracket assembly.

2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 said underfrarne including acenter sill to which said 1 e conne ted. 3. Tfi ei r ivention inaccordance with claim 2,

said legs and said removable connecting means providing a three pointsuspension for said rod means from said center sill.

4. The invention in accordance with claim 3,

said legs being disposed in tripodal configuration.

5. The invention in accordance with claim 4,

said removable connecting means including apertured members connected toand projecting downwardly from said center sill,

said legs having upper apertured end portions and first removable pinmeans inserted through said end portions and said members.

6. The invention in accordance with claim 5,

said legs converging downwardly, and

means connecting the lower ends of said converging legs, said latterconnecting means including an apertured portion, and r 4 second pinmeans connecting said rod means and said apertured portion.

1. In a railway car having an underframe and a truck bolster at oppositeends thereof, a pair of axles journaled for rotation on opposite sidesof said truck bolster, each of said axles being adapted to support apair of wheels, a foundation type brake system including wheel engagingmeans adapted to engage said wheels in braking relation, a fulcrum leverpivotally connected to said underframe, means adapted to apply force tosaid fulcrum lever to pivot the same about said pivotal mounting, afulcrum rod extending from said fulcrum lever beneath one of said axlesand being connected to a first brake lever on one side of said truckbolster, a second brake lever disposed on the opposite side of saidtruck bolster, each of said first and second brake levers supportingsaid wheel engaging means for engagement with said wheels, and meansconnecting said brake levers to provide for uniform braking force, theimprovement comprising: means anchoring said connecting means againstlongitudinal movement including a bracket assembly, a plurality of legson said bracket assembly, means removably connecting said legs to saidunderframe against longitudinal and transverse displacement, and rodmeans extending between and having opposite end portions pivotallyconnecting said second brake levers and said bracket assembly.
 2. Theinvention in accordance with claim 1, said underframe including a centersill to which said legs are connected.
 3. The invention in accordancewith claim 2, said legs and said removable connecting means providing athree point suspension for said rod means from said center sill.
 4. Theinvention in accordance with claim 3, said legs being disposed intripodal configuration.
 5. The invention in accordance with claim 4,said removable connecting means including apertured members connected toand projecting downwardly from said center sill, said legs having upperapertured end portions and first removable pin means inserted throughsaid end portions and said members.
 6. The invention in accordance withclaim 5, said legs converging downwardly, and means connecting the lowerends of said converging legs, said latter connecting means including anapertured portion, and second pin means connecting said rod means andsaid apertured portion.